Typewriter attachment



March 29, 1938.

A. W. METZNER TYPEWRITER ATTACHMENT Filed March 29, 1937 Patented Mar. 29, 1938 UNITED STATES 2,112,248 TYPEWRITER ATTACHlVIENT Albert W. Metzncr, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to John Q, Sherman, Dayton, Ohio Application March 29, 1937, Serial No. 133,581 19 Claims. (Cl. 197-126) This invention pertains to manifolding apparatus and comprises carbon shifting means for repetitiously employing short-lengths of carbon or transfer material with multiform continuous series connected stationery.

Heretofore it has been quite common practice to interleave continuous strips of multiple forms with like strips of one-time carbon or transfer material, which after being once used is discarded. Although effecting a saving of time such method is expensive and necessitates a great waste of material. Numerous forms of carbon shifting apparatus have been devised, wherein the interleaved transfer material must be manually manipulated and adjusted after each writing operation, or wherein either the transfer material or the record material must be clamped or otherwise held stationary while the other material is manually adjusted relative thereto.-

Although affording satisfactory results such carbon shifters have been found quite expensive to manufacture, difdoult to use, necessitating considerable loss of time and requiring skill and extensive manual effort by the operator.

The present invention provides an inexpensive method and apparatus which overcomes the dimculties of former carbon shifter mechanisms by employing interleaved transfer sheets which are advanced past the writing position in unison with 0 advancement of associated strips of record material, and upon completion of the writing opera tion their advancement is automatically arrested while the inscribed portions of the record strips are further advanced independently of and relative to the transfer to a tear-off position where the inscribed portions are detached from the supply strips. a

- During the unison advance movement of the manifolding assembly an automatic retractive device is tensioned or energized to effect a subsequent movement of the record material and associated transfer material into position for succeed ing writing operations. The relative advance of the record strip independently of the transfer material at the completion of the writing operation, positions the succeeding set of forms or record sheets to be inscribed in registry with the transfer sheet, after which the entire assembly of transfer sheet and advanced record strips are retracted in unison to the initial writing position preparatory to the succeeding writing operation.

The automatic retractive means may be efiective only to re-engage the transfer material with the feeding means preparatory to reverse feeding of the manifolding assembly to Writing position by manual effort or if more strongly tensioned such retractive means when tripped may affect automatic retraction of the entire assembly to writing position by reverse actuation of the feeding means. ,7

After the forms or record sheets and the interleaved transfer sheets have been initially positioned relative to each other, with a reasonable amount of care on the part of the operation in advancing the strips to the tear-off position, in- 10 dependently of the transfer sheets, the registry of the transfer sheets with succeeding sets of forms will be automatically maintained.

The object of the invention is to simplify the construction as well as the means and mode of operation of carbon shifting devices of a manifolding apparatus whereby they may not only be economically manufactured but will be more eflicient in use, automatic in operation, uniform in action, of increased accuracy, having relatively few parts, and unlikely to get out of repair.

A further object of the invention is to provide feeding means for uniformly advancing the transfer and record material an initial distance in unison and then automatically arresting the transfer material while the record material is differentially advanced relative to the transfer material through an additional distance.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for automatically re-engaging the transfer material with the feeding means for retraction in unison with the record material. 1

Another object of the invention is to provide means to automatically retract the transfer and record material in unison after the record mate- 5 rial has been advanced relative to the transfer material to tear-off position and a succeeding set of forms to be inscribed has been registered with the transfer material.

A further object of the invention is to provide 1 an adjustable platen capable of lateral movement to enable the record material to be shifted relative to the type impacting position of the imprinting machine to insure columnar registration.

With the above primary and other incidental objects in view as will more fully appear in the specification the invention consists of the features of construction and the parts and combinations thereof and the modeof operation or their inv the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawing wherein is shown the preferred but obviously not necessarily the only form of embodiment of the invenion.

' equivalents as hereinafter described and set forth Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional writing machine to which the carbon shifting apparatus embodying the present invention has been applied.

Fig.2 is a perspective view of the material feeding and carbon shifting apparatus removed from the writing machine.

Fig. 3 is a detail view of aspring motor for antomatically re-engaging the transfer material with the feeding means preparatory-to retractive movement of the manifolding assembly, and which when sufficiently tensioned may be utilized for automatically retracting the record and transfer material in unison.

Fig. 4 is a detail fragmentary view of a portion of the transfer material carrier.

Fig. 5 is a detail fragmentary view of a micrometer adjusting mechanism for shifting the platen laterally relative to the writing position.

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the ratchet detent and trip mechanism pertaining to the automatic retracting means.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters I of reference throughout the several views.

While the present inventionis applicable to various types of writing machine, billing machines, tabulating machines, and other recording and imprinting apparatus, for illustrative purposes but with no intent to unduly limit the scope or application of the invention, it is herein. shown and described as applied to a conventhe record material for positively" advancing the trans record material and with it the associated transfer sheet past the writing position.

Carried by such upwardly and rearwardly extending frame are parallel endless beltsx having therein successions 'of spaced feed holes registra-- ble with those of the record material in which the pin type feeding device is engageable simul-' taneously with its engagement in the marginally punched holes of the recordstrip. These endless traveling belts which pass about the platen roll at their lower ends and about idler pin wheels at the upper limit of the supporting frame are intergonnected by a carrier bar to which the tion between the record strips. The platen roll and endless traveling belt engaged by feeding pins associated with the platen roll are advanced through step by step movement by the customary line space mechanism. The feeding pins carried by the platen roll extend through the holes in the traveling belt into simultaneous engagement in marginally punched holes in the record strip and cause the record and transfer material to be advanced in unison past the writing position. when the end of a form is reached, clearance slots in the feeding belts are idly entered by the feedingpinsthereby discontinuing the advance ment of the belts and associated transfer material. The feeding pins,- however, projecting through such slots into engagement with the marginal feed holes, of the record material continue the advancement of the latter. The travel er sheets are attached in interleaved relamovement of the belts during "unison advancement of the record and transfer material under influence of the line space mechanism serves to wind a spring motor at the top of the frame which by its reaction operates to reverse the direction of travel of the belts. After the record material has been advanced to the tear-off position independently of the transfer material the spring motor automatically returns the transfer material and carrier belts sufficiently to re-engage the belt with the feeding pins for manual retraction of the manifolding assembly into the writing position. However, if the spring motor tension is sufflcient it may be employed to automatically drive the endless belt in a reverse direction and thereby reversely actuate the pin type platen roll to automatically retract the record strip and transfer material in unison to present the succeeding set of forms in writing position.

' Referring to the drawing, l0 indicates a conventional typewriter, the platen roll i2 of which is provided with spaced radially disposed feeding pins H for engagementin marginally punched feed holes in continuous superposed strips of stationery drawn from a supply packet 20 in a paper carrier IG at the rear of the writing machine. The carrier l6 may be operatively coupled to the platen carriage I 8 of the writing machine for unison to and fro travel or it may be sta- 'tionarily mounted as is found most desirable.

The supply holder or carrier for the record material, and the particular form of pin type platen form no part, per se, of the present invention except so far as such pin type feeding means comprises a part of the combination comprising the carbon shifter.

Extending upwardly and rearwardly from the platen roll I! is a frame including jointed extensible side bars, the lower portions 40 of which are mounted upon the platen roll shaft 42. The upper extensions of the side bars are adjustably connected with the portions 40 bya clamp bolt 48 engaging in slots 50 vwhich enable'the frame to be extended or retracted within the limits of such slots. Journaled in the upper ends stud or tongue 64 upon the interior of the housing and the opposite end 66 of which is engaged in a slot 68 in the end of the shaft 52. The construction' is such that as the housing is held stationary relative to the frame, the rotation of the shaft 52 by the advancement of the perforated endless belts 32 serves to wind the spring 58 placing it under sufllcient tension, whereby its subsequent reaction, when permitted to do so, will drive the shaft 52 and pin wheel 54 carried thereby in reverse direction to transmit reverse travel motion to the belts 32. i

The belts ll which extend about the platen roll I! and thence about the pin wheels 54 upon the shaft 52 have therein successions of spaced holes in which the feeding pins I I of the platen roll I! with the spaced perforations thereof are slots into which the feeding pins M of the platen enter idly when the belts have been advanced a predetermined distance by engagement of such feeding pins in the spaced perforations or holes.

The stationery comprises successions of forms or record sheets detachably interconnected end to end into a continuous strip which is transversely divisible upon spaced weakened lines 22 into separate sheets or sections.

The several strips of continuous series connected stationery which afford original and duplicate copies are superposed one upon another and preferably super-folded into zig-zag formation thereby forming a supply packet 20 to be carried in the holder [6 from which forms are progressively advanced pastv writing position a and over the upwardly inclined frame. Interleaved between the record strips are relatively short sheets 26 of transfer material of approximately the length of succeeding forms comprising the stationery record strips but of somewhat less width than such marginally punched strips which project laterally beyond the margins of the transfer material. The interleaved transfer sheets are attached to transverse carrier bars 28 the terminals 30 of which are connected by rivets 38 to the parallel endless belts 32 for unison travel therewith.

In the normal operation of making manifold copies the initial forms of the record strips and interleaved transfer sheets are progressively advanced past the writing position through a step by step movement incident to operation of the customary line spacing mechanism, by the engagement of the feeding pins it carried by the platen roll l2 in the spaced holes of the endless belt 32 and simultaneously in the corresponding spaced marginal holes of the rec rd strips. Such positive step by step advancement of the manifolding assembly continues until the end of the form to be'inscribed is reached at which time the perforated endless belt will have been advanced suificiently to bring the slots thereof into the pin engaging position. The pins ll entering the slots 80 of the belts will rotate idly therein while still maintaining their feeding engagement with the marginally punched holes of the record strips. By the continued rotation of the platen roll the pins M advance the record strip, while due to the idle movement of the feeding pins in the slots 80 of the belts the latter remain at rest. The continued advancement of the record material independently of the belt 32 and the transfer material carried thereby advance the inscribed forms or record sheets beyond the transfer material as shown in Fig. 2 where they can be detached upon the transverse lines 22.

During the advancement of the perforated belts 32 by engagement of the feeding pins therewith, prior to their entry into the clearance slots 80 the rotation of the pin wheels 54 and shaft 52 at the top of the frame winds or tensions the spring 58 within the stationery spring housing 60.

The reaction of the spring tending to retract the belts maintains the upper ends of the slots 8!! in engagement .with the feeding pins l4, whereby upon reverse rotation of the platen roll the pins M will again mesh'with the spaced holes in the belts. If only moderate tension is applied to the spring 58, its reaction will be insufficient to automatically rotate the platen roll in reverse direction. It will nevertheless insure operative engagement of the pins in the feed holes of the belts when the platen is manually reversed, to thereby retract the transfer material and the record strips in unison. It will be understood that at such time a new set of forms to be inscribed will have been registered with the transfer sheet by the prior independent advancement of the record strips by which the inscribed forms were advanced to the tear ofi position.

The motive spring 58 may be placed under greater tension, by initially rotating the housing 60 to wind the spring independently of the rotation of the pin wheels 55 after which the housing is locked by engagement of the detent 62 in a notch M of the spring housing flange I2. Under such increased tension the reaction ,of the motive spring 58 may be utilized to automatically retract the assembly of record and transfer material through its full range of movement into writing position. In such event the end of the countershaft 52, opposite the spring housing 60, is provided with a ratchet wheel 55 engaged by a detent pawl 51 pivoted to the supporting frame and having an extended trip arm 59. During the step by step advancement of the manifolding assembly and the belts 32 by the conventional line spacing mechanism, the shaft 52 and pinwheels 56 are held against reverse movement under reactive influence of the tensioned spring 58, by the pawl and ratchet 51 and 55. When the limit of independent advancement of the manifolding material has been reached and the inscribed portions of the strips have been detached, the manual disengagement of the pawl 5'! by depression of the arm 59 releases the spring for reactive driving action upon the belts 32 by which the platen roll is rotated automatically in reverse direction to thereby automatically retract the record and transfer material into writing position.

At the limit of such retrograde movement the carrier bars 28 for the transfer sheets engage a suitable stop 35 adjustably mounted upon the supporting frame, which arrests the belts 32 and with them the platen roll and manifolding assembly with the initial writing line of the record material in the writing position, preparatory to repetition of the writing operation and subsequent advancement of the manifolding assembly by which the spring is again tensioned.

In Figure 5 a device is shown whereby the platen roll may be moved laterally to enable, the record materialwhich is positioned in relation to the platen by the feeding pins-to be adjusted relatively to the typing position of the'machine to obtain columnar registration. This device comprises a fork shaped lever N2 the prongs of which closely engage a collar HI! on an extension B04 of the platen roll. The lever H2 is pivoted at H4 to a part of the carriage of the machine and its free end is engaged by adjusting screws H6, H8.

rivet in the extreme end of the bar 28. The con- The platen rollis axially movcentric circles to which the lead line now apparently pertains, indicates a feed hole in the carrier strip and a larger concentric hole in the bar 28 to afford clearance for the feeding pin.

45 i in'continuous superposed strips of record mate- From the above description it will be apparent that there is thus provided a device of the character described possessing the particular features of advantage before enumerated as desirable, but which obviously is susceptible of modification in its form, proportions, detail construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the principle involved or sacrificing any I of its advantages.

While in order to comply with the statute, the invention has been described in language more or less specific as to'structural features, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, but that the means position and the record material further advanced independently of the transfer material to present succeeding portions of the strips in manifolding relation with' the transfer material after which the record and transfer material are collectively retracted in unison into writing position, characterized by feeding means for simultaneously advancing the record and transfer material in unison and means operative by such advancement for rendering the feeding means ineffective to further advance the transfer material while continuing the advancement of the record material relative to and independently of the transfer material,- and motive means energized by the advance movement of one of the materials for effecting re-engagement of the feeding means with the transfer material for retractive movement thereof in unison with the retraction'of the record material. Y

2. An attachment for a writing machine whererial and interleaved short sheets of transfer material are to be collectively advanced past a writing position and the record material further advanced independently of' the transfer material to present succeeding portions of the strips in mani- -"fo 1ding relation with the transfer material after which the record and transfer material are collectively retracted in unison into writing position, characterized by feeding means for simultaneously advancing the record and transfer ma-' terial in unison and means operative by such advancement for rendering the feeding means ineffective to further advance the transfer mate-- rial while continuing the advancement of the record material, and automatic retractive means for rendering the feeding means efl'ective to retract the transfer material upon retractive movement .of the advanced record'material.

3. An imprinting machine wherein superposed portions of record and transfer material are dif-' ferentially advancedand subsequently retracted .in unison into a writing position characterized by pin type feeding means for positively advancing the superposed portions of record and'transfer material in unison through an initial movement .and thereafter by continuedoperation advancing the record material I independently of and relative to the transfer material, said pin type'feeding means being soar:

transfer material are a further distance ranged that upon subsequent reverse operation thereof it will retract the advanced record material and transfer material in unison into writing position.

4. The combination with a pin type feeding device of superposed portions of material to be advanced thereby having therein longitudinal successions of spaced feed holes for engagement of the pin type feeding device, one of the members having therein an elongated slot in series with the feed holes in which the pins of the pin type feeding device idly project when said member has been advanced suflicient to present such slot at the feeding position, while the pins continue operative feeding engagement with the feed holes of the other member.

5. The combination with a pin type feeding device of a length of material to be advanced thereby having therein a series of spaced feed holes for engagement of the pins of the pin type feeding device and also having therein an elongated slot in series with the spaced feed holes in which the pins of the pin type feeding device will idly engage at the limit of the advance feeding movement, and retractive means energized by the advance feeding movement for effecting reengagement of the feeding pins in the feed holes of the strip upon reversal of operation of the pin type feeding device.

6. A manifolding apparatus wherein superposed record strips and interleaved transfer material are progressively advanced past a writing position, including pin type feedingmeans for initially advancing the record and transfer material in unison, means for automatically terminating the advancement of the transfer material while advancement of the recordmaterial is continued bythe pin type feeding means, and means for automatically initiating the return movement of the transfer material by said pin type feeding means in unison with the return of the record material upon reversal of operation of the pin type feeding means.

7. A manifolding apparatus wherein superposed strips of record material and interposed 'transfer material are progressively advanced past a writing position, including feeding means common to the record and transfer material for advancing the record'and transfer materials in unison through an initial range of movement, and by continued actuation advancing the record material an additional distance independently, of the-transfer material, and means for effecting automatic operative engagement of the feeding means with the transfer material for return movement in unison with the record material by reversal of the direction of operation of the feeding means.

8. A .manifolding apparatus wherein superposed strips of record material and interposed progressively advanced past a writing position, including feeding means common to the record and transfer material for advancing the record and transfer materials in unison through an initial range of movement, means for effecting automatic disengagement of Said feeding means from the transfer material preparatory to further advancement of the record material independently of the record material by continued operation of the feeding means and means for effecting automatic re-engagement of the feeding means therewith for unison return movement of the record and transfer ma.-

terial at the limit of range of independent advance movement of the record material.

9. The combination with a pin type feeding device of a strip to be fed having therein a succession of longitudinally spaced feed holes with which the pin type feeding device has progressive engagement and having in sequence with the spaced feed holes an aligned slot into which the pin type feeding device enters for idle operation while the strip remains at rest.

10. The combination with a pin type feeding device of superposed strips to be progressively advanced thereby having therein substantially registering longitudinally spaced feed holes to be progressively engaged by the pin type feeding device for advancing the strips in unison, one of the strips having therein a slot in sequence with the longitudinally spaced feed holes into which the pin type feeding device enters for idle operation relative to such slotted strip which thereupon remains at rest while the other strip continues to advance under influence of the pin type feeding device engaging in the feed holes thereof.

11. A strip feeding apparatus including a feeding device engageable simultaneously with superposed strips of material for advancing the strips in unison through an initial range of movement, means whereby the feeding device is automatically disengaged from one strip independently of the other while the later strip is advanced a further distance thereby and means for effecting automatic re-engagement of the feedingdevice with such disengaged strip upon reversal of the direction of operation of the feeding device for unison return movement of the strips.

12. A strip feeding means including a feeding device having simultaneous feeding influence upon superposed strips of material for advancing the strips in unison through an initial range of travel, means for effecting automatic disengagement of the feeding means from one strip while continuing advancement of the remaining strip through an additional range of movement independently of the aforementioned strip, and means for automatically re-engaging the feeding device and disengaged strip for a succeeding simultaneous feeding movement of the strips in unison.

13. A strip feeding apparatus including a feeding device common to a plurality of strips of material and operative to feed a part of the strips continuously and the remainder of the strips intermittently, and means for effecting inter- -mi ttent automatic engagement and disengagement of the feeding device with a part of the strips while maintaining feeding engagement with the remainder thereof.

14. Amanifolding apparatus including a feeding device having simultaneous feeding influence upon superposed portions of record'and transfer material for advancing such manifolding assembly through an initial range of travel and thereafter advancing the record material independently of the transfer material through an additional range of travel, and means for thereafter automatically effecting return of the transfer material to the influence of the feeding device for retractive'm'ovement in unison with the record material upon reversal of the'feeding device.

15. A manifolding apparatus including a' feeding device having simultaneousfeeding influence upon superposed .portions of record and transfer material for advancing such manifolding assembly through an initial range of travel and thereafter advancing the record material independently of the transfer material through an auditional range of travel, and motive means for subsequently automatically effecting simultaneous return movement of the record and transfer material.

16. A manifolding apparatus including a feeding device having simultaneous feeding influence upon superposed portions of record and transfer material for advancing such manifolding assembly through an initial range of travel and thereafter advancing the record material independently of the transfer material through an additional range of travel, means for effecting arrest of the transfer material at the limit of said unison movement, the continued operation of the feeding means further advancing the record material relative thereto, and biasing means urging the transfer material rearwardly independently of the record material to re-establish feeding engagement with the feeding means upon reverse operation of the latter for unison retraction of the transfer and record material into writing position.

17. A m'anifolding apparatus including a feeding device having simultaneous feeding influence upon superposed portions of record and transfer material for advancing such manifolding assembly through an initial range of travel and thereafter advancing the record material independently of the transfer material through an additional range of travel, means for eflecting arrest of the transfer material at the limit of said unison movement, the continued operation of the feeding means further advancing the record material relative thereto, and motor means for automatically retracting the record and transfer material in unison.

18. A manifolding apparatus including a feeding device having simultaneous feeding influence upon superposed portions of record and transfer material for advancing such manifolding assembly through an initial range of travel and thereafter advancing the record material independently of the transfer material through an additional range of travel, means for effecting arrest of the transfer material at the limit of said unison movement, the continued operation of the feeding means further advancing the record material relative thereto, and spring tension means energized by the advance actuation of the feeding'means for returning the transfer material to control of the feeding means preparatory to unison retraction thereof by reversal of operation of the feeding means.

19. A manifolding apparatusincluding a feeding device having simultaneous feeding influence upon superposed portions of record and transfer material for advancing such manifolding assembly through an initial range of travel and thereafter advancing the record material independently of the transfer material through an additional range of travel, means for effecting arrest of the transfer material at the limit of said unison movement, the continued operation of the feeding means further advancing the record material relative thereto, and spring tension means energizedby the advance actuation of the feeding means for automatically retracting the record and transfer material in unison.

ALBERT W. ME'IZNER.

Batent No. 2,112,2L B.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECT ION.

Merch 29. 1958. I ALBERT w; METZNER: It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: In the drawing, figures Zand L the lead line should be extended from reference; numeral "58" to' the rivet at the 7 left extremity ofthe member 28; in the'printed Specification, page 5 sec- 0nd column strike out the paragraph beginning with the word "Also" in line 69, and through and including the wor d in;" in line 75; and that. the said v Letters Patent should be read withthese corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent --Office Signed and sealed this 1mm day of June, A. D. 195

- Henry Van Arsdale (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents; 

